Complete sterility of a surgeon's hands is an absolute requirement during all surgical operations. The surgeon must go through a long scrubbing sequence, wear sterile gloves and employ scalpels and other instruments that have been thoroughly decontaminated. Nowadays, a surgeon and his assistants do not use only hand tools that can be easily sterilized. They must also manipulate complex electronic and optical instruments whose sterility cannot be easily assured. Effective disinfecting agents such as chlorine or povidone iodine are far too corrosive to be applied to the control panels, switches, handles, knobs or pushbuttons of a surgical laser, microscope, vital sign monitor or other such instrument. If anyone of those control instruments must be manipulated by the surgeon during the procedure, it is common practice to cover such a control implement with a layer of sterile gauze and secure it with a sterile rubber band. However, there is certain procedures such as eye surgeries, where the presence of lint or any kind of fibre on the surgeon's fingers may seriously compromise the operation.
The instant invention results from an attempt to deal with the aforesaid problems and shortcomings.